85 MY TE - Outer headlamp replacement

[thebartman]

I just got the car through it's penultimate MoT after a liberal application of Gun-Gum, however, it only just scraped through on headlamps.

The two outer lamps (dipped/main beam) with the concave lens have corroded inner bowls.

Having looked around the usual places, does any know of another source for these (not LED replacement kits) at a sensible price or does anyone have contacts that may be able to take them apart and re-silver (Chrome ??) the internals??

Many thanks,

thebartman ......

 

 

[JimmytheTurbo]

PNM I think do a kit.

[jonwat]

16 hours ago, thebartman said:

does any know of another source for these

SJSportscars

[thebartman]

Cheers chaps - I was looking to reduce the cost somewhat ... £120 inc. delivery+ VAT per single unit seems a bit steep 😞 

[pete]

Lucky to find one😜

[thebartman]

Yep.

May have to get someone to joosh-up the insides - I know it's not "chrome", something must be possible, though.  😇 😜

At one point in time they were made, so hopefully they can be -remade 😀

Actually, would it be illegal to use similar headlamps which had a "pilot" light hole in them? you know, like a modern car when you have a parking light ??

 

🤷‍♂️

[910Esprit]

I retrofitted all 4 of mine back from the super rare 6" units to the common Valeo/Cibie 5 3/4"  H1/H4 units.  It was pretty straightforward.  Just removed the metal backing plates and fitted 4 of those Wipac style mounting 'buckets'   (commonly used on all BL cars 1960's - 1980's).   With the mounting bezel attached to a 5 3/4 " unit, the overall diameter is the same as a 6" unit, so the original black plastic headlamp masks still fit perfectly.

There were a few bits of fettling required, but all easily done.   Now got 4 perfect units that certainly freshens up the appearance and presumably are a lot more efficient than crusty originals.   

[drdoom]

Did the same for mine with Hellas for dipped and Koitos for main beam. Does indeed make a nice job of refreshing the headlamps.

Cheers

My lighting guru reports that Cibie went out of business when quality slipped after years of neglecting their production equipment. Koito makes units of high quality, just as one might expect of the Japanese..

[lotus-62]

I changed all four to hella H4 kept the cibies rear plate but made some custom rings to mount the Hella's (5 3/4) made a new mask from grp as well 

 

[thebartman]

Thanks for all the options, they're much more appealing than SJs or PNM LED kits 👍

[thebartman]

Presumably any 5 3/4" unit will do the job ?

Like these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/362221218456?itmmeta=01J4RMBPCKD3J3Q6BM00XWPBWR&hash=item5456112a98:g:WQIAAOSw~o5aZlx5

or

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/hella-5-3-4-inch-e-approved-headlight-conversion-hel1l3002850-068/?istCompanyId=a2904180-3a7d-4e56-b876-cf81c9512180&istFeedId=6fbc4b04-fd28-4ce1-8513-835c8f118690&istItemId=iltplimrr&istBid=t&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw2dG1BhB4EiwA998cqG1YJo2vNJWsjfAK5ODUZydSKHjX1Qo49W9AJ54t84_tcPsPSRc23BoCSRsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Escape]

Yes, any 5 3/4" or 6" lamp will fit, as long as you can mount it securely.

And no problem using lamps that have a hole for a sidelight. You just don't wire it in if you don't need to.

Greetz,

Filip

[910Esprit]

Also bear in mind that you need one H4 unit (includes dipped beam) and one H1 unit (main beam only) per side.   (e.g. The Hella unit appears to be H4 only)

To mount, I used these type of things, but recall I trimmed away most of the back of the bowl - otherwise it fouled the headlamp pod :   5 3/4 (5.75) INCH HEADLIGHT BOWLS - FORD CORTINA, CAPRI, ZEPHYR ZODIAC ONE PAIR | eBay  As mentioned earlier, the overall OD was the same as the original 6" unit, so I didn't need to modify the original headlamp masks   

    

[Escape]

12 minutes ago, 910Esprit said:

Also bear in mind that you need one H4 unit (includes dipped beam) and one H1 unit (main beam only) per side.   (e.g. The Hella unit appears to be H4 only)

That is the standard setup and offers some advantages (the H1 has a better long range pattern than the high beam of an H4), but it is not strictly necessary. Just the outers with H4 would suffice. Or you can use H4 for both outer and inner to have 4 lights on dipped beam as well.

Personally, I do prefer the standard combined setup.

[skiing]

Early cars had all four with dipped and main beam - mine does as the first S3 off the production line.